About What You Said
by SP22
Summary: Takes place after Hinata is injured during Naruto's battle with Pain. Once Hinata is released from the hospital she runs into Naruto who wishes to speak with her about what she said right before Pain attacked. (2nd chapter is coming soon!)


Naruto X Hinata

"About What You Said…"

(no copyright infringement is intended, I do not own the characters. Just thought I would have a little fun rearranging the plot a bit!)

The clock struck six and a new sun rose over the Hidden Leaf village and with it, a warm feeling of long awaited peace filled the crisp morning air. It had been a week to the day since Naruto defeated Pain. Most of the damage had been repaired and in that short time the villagers seemed to be more united than ever. However, some of the village ninja were still feeling the effects of the battle. A few of the finest shinobi had been badly injured, among them was Hinata, a kunoichi from the esteemed Hyuga clan. In a moment of blind fury, she threw herself in front of one of Pain's direct attacks in order to protect Naruto and in the heat of the moment, she finally professed her love for the golden haired ninja…. at the top of her lungs.

As she lay in her hospital bed, her stomach turned and she blushed a bright and uncomfortable shade of red, replaying that moment over again in her head. The physical damage she could handle, a bruised spine and some cracked ribs were pretty standard after a hard battle. It was surprisingly painless compared to the verbal damage she was now facing. "I can't believe I said that… I can't believe I finally told Naruto I-I.." She couldn't even repeat the words to herself now. "What came over me?" She thought. In all her years of knowing Naruto she had never gathered up the courage to speak more than a few words to him. But when she saw him being tortured by Pain, she lost all control of her inhibitions and fought with all her heart to protect what she loved most… just like Naruto. Though she wouldn't dare admit it, there was a tiny part of her that was proud of her confession. She had always dreamed of doing it, though she had imagined it would be under drastically different circumstances. However, the rest of her mind felt paralyzed with anxiety of what would happen next. Would Naruto ever speak to her again? Perhaps it would be easier if he didn't. What if she didn't like his response?

Her thoughts were disrupted when a doctor entered her room. "Well Ms. Hyuga, you are all set to be released, just be sure to take it easy for a few weeks." Hinata nodded with compliance. "Alright, just sign here and you can be on your way".

As Hinata walked out the front door of the hospital, she heard a familiar voice from behind her.

"Hey Hinata!" A pink haired Kunoichi hummed.

"Oh! Hi Sakura!"

"I'm so glad to see you're doing better, you were in pretty rough shape when you arrived" Sakura looked down at the Hyuga girl's flushed face.

"Y-Yes, but I'm all better now!"

"Humph! Well, be sure you get lots of rest, and that you're eating a balanced diet! I can bring you some of my homemade medicinal snack bars later this week!"

"OH!" HInata's stomach dropped at the thought of Sakura preparing food. "N-No! That's okay! I'll manage."

Sakura Scowled. "Hmmm well okay. Get home safe!"

"Thank you Sakura!" Hinata bowed formally before continuing on her walk home.

She took the long way home, she wanted to enjoy the fresh air before the afternoon sun made it too hot. She detoured through the center of town and observed all of the rapid reconstruction that had already been completed. She smiled at the young children laughing and playing in the street. Everything seemed to be returning to normal.

She thought to herself, "…and with any luck, maybe Naruto didn't even hear your little love confession! I mean, he was pretty distracted by a serious battle after all. I'm sure he doesn't even remember that little detail." The brief thought assured her, but only for a moment before her senses were greeted by the faint scent of ramen and a flash of bright yellow and orange originating from her peripheral vision.

"Hey Hinata!" The voice called to her, running closer.

Hinata was now cursing her decision to walk through the center of town, she knew it would take her directly in front of Ichiraku's ramen shop, Naruto's most frequented place in Konoha! How could she have been so callous!?

Hinata unwillingly stopped dead in her tracks. She wished desperately for her feet to move forward but they refused. She was paralyzed by her anxiety. Her heart pounding so fast she thought she might just faint.

"Hey!" Naruto greeted her with his usual goofy grin. "They finally released you from the hospital!"

Hinata gazed at Naruto's lips, she could see them moving but his words sounded mumbled by the ringing in her ears.

"I tried to convince Sakura to let me come visit you, but she said no. You know how she is. She said you needed time to recover and that I would just bug you", he rambled on, before noticing all the color had drained from Hinata's face.

"Whoa, hey, you okay?"

Hinata's body collapsed into Naruto's arms, but she didn't lose consciousness.

"Careful there, you almost fell."

"N-no, I'm okay, Naruto I pro—promise"

"You better let me walk you home, just in case." He draped one of her arms around his neck and placed a hand on her waist to support her.

HInata's cheeks blushed bright red at his touch, but he was too careless to notice. She could barely speak throughout the remainder of their walk, but that didn't stop Naruto from carrying on a conversation all on his own. He talked about all the efforts being put in to repair the village and how he got free ramen for life at Ichiraku's for defeating Pain and saving the day. Hinata let out a small smile, it was nice to see Naruto so happy, it always cheered her up.

When they arrived at the gate of the Hyuga residence, Hinata used all her strength to untangle herself from Naruto's body. She still felt a bit dizzy, but she was able to get her bearings enough to bow graciously toward Naruto. "Th-Thank you for walking me home Naruto".

"It was nothing! No trouble at all!" He smiled as he scratched the back of his head.

For a second she thought she was home free. Maybe Naruto really didn't remember what she said that day!

"Anyways, I'm kinda glad I ran into you today, I wanted to ask you somethin…"

'Uh oh…' her heart skipped a beat.

"I was wonderin' if you wanted to come by my place tomorrow and uh… talk?"

'Talk!?' Hinata was petrified! Her face began to feel numb from all the blood rushing to it. She was still bowing, hoping Naruto wouldn't see.

Nervousness was a pretty normal emotion for Hinata, but not for Naruto, however, even he seemed to be feeling a bit uneasy.

"Uhh… Hinata?" Naruto seemed concerned by her lack of response.

"Yes." She squeaked. It was a miracle she managed to make any sound at all.

"G-Great! Then I'll see you tomorrow! Come on over around noon or uhhh I guess whenever works for you."

She nodded, still avoiding eye contact and still frozen in place.

"Great, well you should go get some rest." He turned to walk away, waving as he left. One of the maids from the Hyuga residence came out to assist Hinata into her room.

Hinata steadied herself on the dresser next to her bed, then smiled, granting the maid permission to leave. She lowered herself onto the mattress and took a deep and shaky breath in, pondering what she had just agreed to. Tomorrow she had agreed to go to Naruto's house—alone! To talk with him —alone! About some unknown topic—ALONE! She could feel all the blood rushing to her cheeks just at the thought of being next to him. Hinata was the least confrontational shinobi in Konoha and she had just agreed to talk with arguably the most confrontational shinobi in the entire village! What was he going to say to her tomorrow and what's more, what was she going to say back?

Stay tuned, chapter 2 is coming soon!


End file.
